Rossi looking for more front grip

The Italian was happy with the morning's wet practice, where he was just a tenth slower than Nicky Hayden's session best and felt fast throughout, but not quite so happy with his bike's performance in the second session despite setting the third-fastest time, less than four tenths off the pace.

"This morning it was quite wet and we were very fast from the start. We found a good setting and the Bridgestone wet tyre worked very well for me," explained Rossi.

"This afternoon in the dry however we had a few more problems and Stoner and Pedrosa were both faster than me. At the moment we're missing a bit of front grip.

Rossi remained positive however: "This track is always quite hard and it doesn't suit our M1 perfectly; at the moment we have some issues in the slow corners and we're suffering a bit. Anyway, we were still third so it's not a big problem and I am sure we will be able to improve tomorrow.

"I hope the weather is better for the rest of the weekend!"